Mail-box.



A: GLOSS.

MAIL BOX.

APPLICATlON man JULY 24. 1916.

Patented June 12, 1917' v' rz for Zfz'tnesses ALBERT GLOSS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MAIL-BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 1L2, 191 "2.

Application filed July 24, 1916. Serial No. 110,961.

'1 '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT Gross, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in mail boxes and its object is to produce a box which as it is opened automatically disposes the mail in a position readily accessible to the owner: disposition of the mail in a read ily accessible position is due to the action of gravity when the mail box door is thrown upon its hinges into open position. In the small mail boxes in general household use the party abstracting the mail very often receives minor injuries to the hands from contact with the sharp sides of the metallic box, the possibility of which is entirely obviated through the use of my improved mail box.

A further object is to produce a mail box that is cheap to manufacture and that is constructed to meet the general requirements of the masses of the people throughout the country. lVith the foregoing and other objccts in view the invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter fully described in the following specification, pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawing which forms a part of said specification and in which Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through the box and is taken on line l1 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the box.

Like reference characters denote corresponding parts throughout.

The reference numeral 1 denotes the wall or other support to which the box is to be secured by means of suitable fastening means 2 which directly support the back 3 of the box. The said back 8 is formed with lateral flanges & and a top flange 5 all of which converge toward and merge into the integral face 6 which is formed with the letter slot 7 by pressing a strip of the metal from the face toward the back 3 to form a guard 8. A. door 9 is hinged at 10 to the back 3 and is adpated to open outwardly and downwardly as shown in dotted lines in Fig.1. the door 9 is formed near its upper or free edge with a longitudinal slot 10 which merges into a transverse recess 11 which terminates at the oppositely disposed straight shoulders 12, 12 formed in said door and a pivot 13 embedded in cars 12 of said shoul ders extends longitudinally of said recess 11. and carries lever i l provided with a weight 15 at its lower end which when the door 9 is closed retains the lever against the face 6 of the box. A suitable lock 16 and staple 17 may be ennploycd to retain the door positively in closed position.

When the lock 16 is opened and the door moved upon its hinge into dotted or open position, Fig. 1, the weight l5 will keep the lever 14: in vertical position and it will, thus afford a stop for the mail. 18 which can be readily removed without manual contact with the box or any part thereof. When the mail is removed the door may, of course, be moved back to closed position.

IVhat is claimed is 2-- 1. In a mail box, a hinged door adapted to open outwardly and downwardly, a lever pivotally carried by said door and adapted to serve as a stop for the contents of the box when the door is in open position, and a weight carried by said. lever whereby the same is retained in operative or vertical position.

2. In a mail box, a hinged door adapted to open outwardly and downwardly and formed with a longitudinal slot and with a transverse recess registering with said slot, a lever pivotally supported in the recessed portion of said door and adapted when the door is in open position to serve as a stop for the contents of the box, and a weight carried by said lever and adapted to swing through the recessed portion of said door, when the same is open, to retain said lever in upright or operative position.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALBERT GLOSS. WVitnesses:

WM. BAUMRUOKER, WILLIAM C. Wrmnnsrmnr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, ID. 0. 

